Art on the fly: Airport galleries take off

By Eoghan Macguire, for CNN

Updated 6:00 AM ET, Wed July 4, 2012

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Heathrow Airport, London – Heathrow Airport in London hosts the Terminal 5 Expo Fine Art Gallery, which aims to exhibit the very best British art during the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games as well as providing a quiet, contemplative space for travelers.

Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Atlanta – A 950 foot long installation by the artist Amy Landesberg is part of the new international terminal at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Reported to have cost $1.5 million, the mammoth artwork is one of four pieces designed to ensure the building embodies a bespoke aesthetic style.

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Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam – Rijksmuseum Schipol is a joint initiative between Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport to display the best and most historic Dutch artwork for free. The terminal gallery has housed temporary exhibitions of some of the Rijksmuseum's most illustrious works, including famed pieces by the likes of Rembrandt, d'Hondecoeter and Van Gogh.

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Carrasco Airport, Montevideo – Sculptures by Belgian artist William Sweetlove are displayed at Carrasco airport in Montevideo as part of a temporary exhibition in November 2011.

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Miami International Airport – Passengers take in an exhibition by artist Kirsten Thiele as they await their flight at Miami International Airport. The Division of Fine Arts & Cultural Affairs at MIA says its mission is to "humanize and enrich the airport environment" through exhibitions that "communicate culture, environment and art resources of an international scope."

San Francisco International Airport – San Francisco International Airport boasts its own museum. An ever-changing schedule (recent exhibitions have displayed Scandinavian ceramics, sewing machines of the 20th century and Vietnamese photography) aims to provide an educational and cultural experience for the 40 million passengers who use the airport annually.

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Haneda Airport, Tokyo – A human-shaped plastic balloon floats in the air above the concourse of Tokyo's Haneda Airport as part of a temporary public art installation in March 2009.

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Story highlights

Galleries and art installations are a common feature of modern terminal buildings

Some airports have art budgets of millions of dollars

Items on display vary from works by local artists to priceless masterpieces

Busy travelers don't always have time to visit the artistic hotspots in the cities they pass through. But for culture vultures in a hurry, there is another way to experience quality artwork on the fly -- by sampling airport galleries and art installations.

Prominent displays of priceless masterpieces and contemporary craftsmanship are now a common feature of many modern airports.

The new international terminal at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport opened in May this year kitted out with a cool $5 million-worth of artwork and sculptures.

San Francisco International Airport, meanwhile, cooperates with the city's arts council to put on exhibits by artists of local, national and international acclaim in its very own on-site museum.

But it's not only U.S. airports that are doubling up as a home for elaborate and extensive exhibits. Locations in Europe and Asia are getting in on the act as well. London's Heathrow Airport hosts the Terminal 5 Expo Fine Art Gallery, which aims to provide a "contemplative space" amidst the bustle of one of the world's busiest airports.

The departures lounge of Schipol International Airport in Amsterdam meanwhile contains a permanent exhibition by the city's Rijksmuseum, including classic works by the famed Dutch masters of the 17th century "Golden Age," such as Rembrandt.

With the refined sensibilities of the cultured traveler in mind, in the picture gallery above we've compiled a list of airports that have embraced the arts.

Did we miss out your favorite airport galleries or museums? Let us know in the comments section below.